User manual HP COMPAQ PROLIANT 8500 SERVER COMPAQ LEADERSHIP IN SERVER INNOVATIONS

[. . . ] WHITE PAPER February 1998 Compaq Computer Corporation CONTENTS Executive Summary . . . . . . . . 4 Recent Innovations and Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Compaq Drives Standard Value to Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Compaq Leadership in Server Innovations Executive Summary With Compaq's long history of innovations in the industry standards marketplace, it's easy to see why Compaq is the number one server for customers' needs. [. . . ] Compaq, Intel, and Microsoft Corporation developed primary work on the VI Architecture specification. This initiative illustrates Compaq's drive to build upon industry standards and to provide the enterprise level computing platforms and performance that enterprise customers demand. q Fibre Channel - is a key technology for the system interconnect, the serial drive interface and high-speed networking in delivering bigger, faster, more reliable network data storage solutions. It provides opportunity for the integration of primary and secondary storage as well as shared storage between multiple users. Key Benefits - Fibre Channel's performance is 10 times faster than fast SCSI, 5 times faster than Fast-Wide SCSI, and 2 l/2 times faster than Ultra-SCSI. Compaq Advantage - Compaq is the world's second largest storage vendor. Compaq's Fibre Channel Storage System will be the first of a new generation of storage products based on Fibre Channel technology. Through an early access program, Compaq currently has hundreds of Fibre Channel Storage products in evaluation at leading companies and partners around the globe. Compaq's Fibre Channel Storage System will also provide greater availability for business critical systems through support for cluster server solutions such as Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS). IT departments that expect rapid growth in storage capacity will benefit from the superior manageability, backup, storage consolidation, and scalability of Fibre Channel solutions. The recent partnership between Compaq and HewlettPackard Components Group (HPCG) enables the two organizations to share interoperability information in order to establish Fibre Channel as a stable platform for highly reliable, highspeed storage applications­making it easier for customers to adopt the Fibre Channel interconnect as an industry standard. Compaq is one of the sponsors of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Committee responsible for developing the Fibre Channel standards. Fibre Channel technology will deliver higher reliability, greater capacity, and higher performance than those servers with traditional SCSI solutions. q I2O Readiness - The I2O Initiative defines a standardized general architecture for intelligent I/O. Its basic objective is to provide an industry-wide I/O subsystem architecture that is independent of both the specific device being controlled and the host operating system. 7 Key Benefits - The potential benefits of I2O products will be more consistent OS support, a shorter time to market for new products because of reduction in the number of drivers needed, greater OS stability, and potential improvements in overall system performance through lower host processor overhead. The I2O Initiative also provides increased system scalability with the ability to run more devices per server. Compaq Advantage - Compaq was first to introduce server-optimized intelligent I/O and memory architectures and continues to produce leadership intelligent I/O adapters such as the SMART-2 array adapters. Compaq delivers its I2O solution in a flexible, scalable architecture that will allow customers to scale the performance and functionality of the I/O in their servers. As one of the original members of the I2O Steering Committee, Compaq's extensive experience and leadership in developing intelligent I/O solutions can be used to help advance a unifying standard for eliminating potential I/O issues of the future. q Compaq Recovery Server Option - is a low-cost option, which can be configured in either of three ways, providing protection against specific server component failures or even 7 Refer to White Paper Intelligent I/O and the I2O Initiative Doc. ECG040. 1097 for more information. 7 WHITE PAPER COMPAQ LEADERSHIP IN SERVER INNOVATIONS Doc. The options include Standby Recovery Server (SRS), On-Line Recovery Server (OLRS), and On-Line Storage Controller Recover Option (OSCRO). Each of these configuration options provides fully automated detection of failures and fully automated recovery within a minimal amount of time. Each of these configurations can be implemented in Microsoft NT Server Standard Edition or Novell NetWare environments. Key Benefits - Standby Recovery Server: With Standby Recovery Server, one ProLiant or ProSignia server stands by as an idle backup for the other. [. . . ] Network operations can be centralized into one location near the 24-hour support. Compaq Advantage - Compaq had a three-year lead advantage providing rack-mounted server industry standards of 19-inch racks over x86 machines from other vendors including Hewlett-Packard and IBM. Compaq simplifies customers' rack enclosure decisions by offering three racks: a 42U, a 36U, and a 22U and a full suite of rack accessories that provide a lower cost of ownership. Customers are able to integrate up to 14 servers into a single cabinet. 9 The leadership in rack designs continues with Compaq's Rack Builder, an automated tool to facilitate rapid planning and prototyping of racks by ensuring that all required parts are included. COMPAQ DRIVES STANDARD VALUE TO CUSTOMERS Compaq's long successful history of innovations that have been driven to industry standards proves that this company is listening to its customers. [. . . ]